Steve's Strange Love Life As Observed By Darcy Lewis (Stark)
by Selene Illusinia
Summary: [Darcy Stark Series] Steve has a crush. Darcy has to intervene.


Darcy's ears perked up immediately as soon as she heard the heavy footsteps that belonged to Steve in the entry way. Checking her watch and confirming it was in fact 7:30 am, she headed for the sound of the First Avenger's footfalls. Her archer had been more fidgety than normal since Peter had joined the group and she wanted to know why. And Steve was the person most likely to know what was going on.

"Steve?" called Darcy as she stuck her head out of the living room where she'd been chilling.

The super-soldier's footsteps halted in the hallway, turning to face Darcy where she stood in the living room doorway. "Good morning, Darcy. Are you just up or heading to bed?"

"Just up," replied Darcy with a shrug. "Meetings this morning that Mom's making me attend."

Seeing Steve in front of her now, she noticed two things. One: he had a cup of coffee in hand from a local coffee shop, something he never did when he ran because he said it was counter-intuitive. And two, his cheeks were still red from what Darcy guessed must have been a very, very acute blush. Clint's self-esteem issues could wait. "So, what's up with you, Steve? You never get coffee when you run."

"I needed the boost today," replied Steve, fidgeting slightly.

"Uh-huh," hummed Darcy with a smile. "And the remainders of the blush?"

"W-what blush?" asked Steve, his face turning red even as he spoke.

Darcy just burst out laughing. "Relax, Steve. I'm not gonna bite. I'm just curious."

Steve's blush darkened even more, turning his cheeks the color of a tomato. It made Darcy was to pinch his cheeks and hug him at the same time. "Nothing happened..."

"Steve..." trailed Darcy, putting on her best puppy-dog look. The one that got her father to take her from Malibu to New York City for ice cream on school nights. "I'm not gonna laugh. Promise. I'm just worried about you."

For a moment, she thought it might not work the way Steve tried to turn away. Tried being the key word. He failed at it and she could see the moment he broke because his shoulders slumped and he started toeing the floor. "There's...there's this lady at the coffee shop. I spotted her one day when she was coming out. She's really pretty..."

Inside, Darcy did her happy dance. _This is adorable_. And a relief. She'd been beginning to suspect Steve was too caught up on Peggy to look at another woman. Or that the man wasn't as straight as he claimed to be, which was appealing but seemed highly unlikely. "Have you talked to her yet?"

"No," admitted Steve with a blush. "She doesn't even notice me..."

Giggling like a school girl internally while mentally cooing over how adorable Steve was, Darcy guided the super soldier into the kitchen and pushed him onto one of the stools. "Why do you think that she doesn't notice you?"

"Because she's a beautiful dame," replied Steve, blushing more even as his eyes unfocused a little. "She's always got some kinda book with her and usually she's reading when I go by. I tried goin' into the shop today and hoping I'd catch her to say hello, but she was ahead of me and then she left before I got through the line."

Darcy shook her head, grabbing a cup for coffee. "I still don't get why you think she doesn't see you. You're a damn hot guy."

"'Cause she's always focused on her book and, well, I'm just a kid from Brooklyn," explained Steve, shifting uneasily. "She's always readin' thick books, some of 'em not even in English, and I just can't see a girl like that bein' interested in a guy like me."

"Brainy girls go for jocks," joked Darcy, leaning on the counter across from Steve. "What if I come out running with you tomorrow morning and help you meet this girl?"

The look on Steve's face was a cross between hope and absolute fear. "I-it's okay, I can handle it-"

"Steve," cut in Darcy firmly. "I'm not going to embarrass you. Promise. I'll just be your wing man. Er, woman. What time does she go to the coffee shop?"

Steve shuffled his feet a little, still looking torn. "I see her around seven..."

"So we'll go by at seven, just like you do every day, and see if we can see her," explained Darcy with a grin, not giving Steve the chance to object. "Besides, the exercise will be good for me."

"You know, I'm surprised Darcy," huffed Steve as they rounded the corner, drawing nearer to their target: the coffee shop. "I didn't think you'd be this awake in the morning."

"Awake?" asked Darcy, her breath puffing in the cool Autumn air. She would have laughed if she didn't need all her air to keep up with Steve's pace. And he was slowing down for her sake! _Mental note to self, never ask Steve to be my personal trainer. Ever. It will only end badly._ "I never went to sleep last night."

Steve just shook his head. "I should have guessed."

Rounding the block, Steve slowed down significantly as they neared the coffee shop. Darcy could see the way his eyes scanned the area for any sign of his mystery girl. Half a second later, the super-soldier pointed to the cafe. "She just want inside."

"Alright," stated Darcy firmly, rubbing her hands together like the mad genius she is, "let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns!"

"Uh, what?" asked Steve, momentarily side-tracked by Darcy's one-line randomness.

Darcy just shrugged. "I was watching Mulan around 3 am. Apparently, it's when I'm most susceptible to songs becoming stuck in my head."

"Why weren't you asleep anyway?" asked Steve curiously.

"Clint wasn't home," replied Darcy with as causal a shrug as she could pull off. She didn't really want to explain to Steve that when Clint was out on missions she couldn't really sleep. Or that she hacked into the S.H.I.E.L.D. mainframe and monitored his status from her workshop when he was deployed. Or that she'd flagged the entire S.H.I.E.L.D network to alert her when a new document pertaining to him was posted...she really needed a new hobby. Maybe one that made her sound like less of a deranged stalker...

Steve didn't pry any further once she'd answered, instead returning his focus on the coffee shop. There wasn't anything he could really tell her anyway, not that she didn't already know. "So, what do we do?"

"Walk up and say hello," replied Darcy with a shrug heading for the coffee house at an easy pace. "That's usually how normal people greet each other."

"That's how I greet people!" objected Steve, hurrying after Darcy.

"Really?" asked Darcy with a touch of a smirk. "I thought throwing each other through walls was how superheros said hello."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Steve's lips. "No, that's how we greet supervillians. Hero's tend to just squeeze each other's hands until someone cracks bone."

"Either way, the doctors love you guys," dismissed Darcy with a grin. "But let's not do any hand-breaking today, hm?"

"I don't intend to," assured Steve, pausing as he looked through the front window of the coffee shop. "She's in there, near the front of the line. The woman with green in her hair."

The woman in question was standing inside, her face buried in a book that looked like it was written in a foreign language and her ear-phones tucked firmly in her ears. Her black hair was streaked through with green and held back from her face by a barrette with a series of runes carved into the metal. Her skin was pale, almost appearing to glint silver in the right light, and her green eyes were locked on the book in her hands.

"No fucking way," muttered Darcy, a grin slipping over her lips as she pushed into the coffee shop and cut straight towards the front of the line. She leaned around a display, tapping the woman on the shoulder and waving as soon as she looked up.

Grinning as soon as she caught sight of Darcy, the woman pulled out her earphones and closed her book. "Darcy! What're you doing here?"

"Apparently, helping my buddy introduce himself to you," replied Darcy, leaning against the display carefully. "How are you, Fen?"

Behind her, the door to the coffee shop dinged, drawing Darcy's attention. Steve stood in the doorway, looking awkward as his eyes darted between Darcy and Fen. Darcy just rolled her eyes and waved the supersoldier over.

Fen's eyes widened slightly. "That's the friend of yours you mentioned?"

"Yeah," confirmed Darcy with a grin. "He really wants to ask you out."

"Really?" asked Fen, her voice laced with surprise. "That's...surprising. He never spoke to me whenever I passed by, and I tried to get his attention a few times. Figured I wasn't his type."

Darcy had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. "Yeah, he's really shy."

Steve came to a halt in front of them, shifting awkwardly as he looked up at Fen. For a moment, he didn't say anything but rather just looked nervously at her. "Uh-"

Without much ado, Fen offered him a smile and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Fen. It's very nice to meet you."

"Steve Rogers, Ma'am," supplied Steve thoughtlessly, his hand carefully gripping hers.

"It's nice to meet you, Steve Rogers," replied Fen with a smile. "I was wondering if you were ever going to say hello."

"Er, sorry?" offered Steve, shifting awkwardly. "You just always looked busy or, ya know, really into whatever you were reading and I didn't want to interrupt you..."

Fen shrugged, still smiling. "It's alright. Just means we'll flip the tables and I'll be the one asking you out. So, dinner tomorrow night?"

Steve visibly balked a little, clearly surprised, but Fen just smiled. "Yes! Uh, yes, please. I'll arrange everything, too. You shouldn't have to."

"Whatever you want," replied Fen with a shrug.

"Alright, uh, I'll pick you up at 6:30?" offered Steve.

"Sure," confirmed Fen, stepping up and ordering a coffee. She then pulled out her phone and looked at Steve. "What's your phone number? I'll text you my address."

Laughing, Darcy pulled out her own phone. "Give me the address, Fen. Steve's a bit old-fashioned and doesn't know his own phone number."

"Really?" asked Fen, raising an eyebrow and giving Steve an appraising look.

Grinning, Darcy patted Steve on the shoulder and dropped her voice. "Fen, Steve is Captain America. He was frozen in ice in the 40's."

"Oh," murmured Fen, looking at Steve with more respect. "That makes more sense then."

"Yep," confirmed Darcy. "Do you still have my phone number?"

"Assuming it's still the same, yes," replied Fen, flicking though her contacts.

"Great, send me your address and I'll send you Steve's contact information," ordered Darcy, tapping at something in her phone. "He's finally learning how to use his phone, but it still freaks him out."

Laughing, Fen nodded and hit a few buttons on her phone. "Alright, sent." Smiling at Steve, she took her coffee from the barrestta and paid. "Unfortunately, I do need to go. I've got to get to work."

"Alright," agreed Darcy, holding up her hand for Fen to slap. Fen did so, wrapping her fingers around Darcy's hand. Darcy did the same. "It was good to see you, Fen. We need to get a drink."

"We do," agreed Fen, releasing Darcy's hand and turning to Steve. "It was very nice to finally speak to you, Steve. I'll see you tomorrow night." Winking, Fen turned and walked away, exiting the building.

Once her former RA and friend had left, Darcy turned towards Steve only to find the super-soldier staring at the door where Fen had disappeared. His jaw was hanging open a little like he wasn't completely sure what had just happened, eyes widening as each second passed. It made Darcy grin. _Oh this is gonna be fun__. This is gonna to be very, very fun._

Trying to suppress her laughter, Darcy shook Steve's arm, drawing him back to the land of the living. When he blinked at her though, she just pulled him towards the door. "C'mon Steve, lets get back to the tower. I need my motor oil coffee this morning, not some cheap coffee-house crap."

"Did that really just happen?" asked Steve as Darcy pulled him onto the sidewalk. "Do I really have a date?"

"You sound like you can't believe it," teased Darcy. "Then again, Fen does that to people."

Steve blinked at her, like he was just making the connection between Darcy and Fen. "You know her."

"Fen was my college RA," confirmed Darcy. "I know her very well."

"Is she nice?" asked Steve, voice hopeful. "I kinda don't know anything about her."

Smiling, Darcy linked their arms and started back towards the mansion. "Oh Steve, I can't tell you anything. It would spoil the fun!"

His face fell a little, making him look more like a sad puppy. "So she's not nice?"

"Fen? She's very nice if she likes you," dismissed Darcy easily. "I wouldn't be friends with her if she wasn't. Hell, she helped protect Dani and I from a lot of the harassment in our dorm during my first time around in college. Fen's just someone you have to spend time with to actually understand her though."

"As long as she's nice," insisted Steve. "I don't care about anything else."

"She's nice," assured Darcy with a grin. "Don't worry Steve, Fen'll be good for you. She might break you, but she'll be good for you."

"Break me?" repeated Steve uneasily. "What does that mean?"

Darcy just laughed. "You'll see. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll survive."


End file.
